INTERVIEW WITH ALAIN VILLARD, CEO OF SWATCH

I believe the pressure on Swatch brand has always been there. Let’s not forget, the group is called ‘Swatch Group’, and that means people automatically have more expectations of a brand that saved the entire watch industry in the ‘80s.

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Even though Swatch has repeatedly been a disruptor and creative force, the MoonSwatch that was introduced in March 2022 has undeniably set a new benchmark in the watch industry. For 2023, Swatch reported a record growth of more than 60 percent. How much pressure has this put on the team to immediately come up with “the next big thing”?

In short, this situation is nothing new for us; we aim to be the most innovative brand, to constantly reinvent ourselves and have new ideas, so the pressure for us didn’t just start in March 2022. But it is of course true that the expectations have grown since then. We’ve also seen that we are able to reach larger target groups; the MoonSwatch launch also gave us the opportunity to open stores in even better locations around the world, and the brand’s reputation has increased.

But it is clear that after such a huge success, you have to continue to prove yourself, you have to come up with innovations on a regular basis. For us, we don’t see it as pressure to reach a higher level again and make a statement, but rather as an opportunity and challenge. I would say that our customers expect even more innovations from us than before, which means we have to ensure the quality and we have to come up with new things, like the Scuba Fifty Fathoms from Blancpain, to which everyone says, "Wow, we didn't expect it, this is the next level." And, of course, it's our turn to think about what's happening-maybe something is happening at this moment (laughs). We have lots of ideas and we challenge ourselves each day.

Who comes up with ideas?